Zutara Month 2014
by ladywentworth
Summary: A small collections of the drabbles I wrote for Zutara Month 2014 on Tumblr.
1. Day Three: Confession

"Thank you, Katara."

His whisper was pained, but Katara heard the feeling in his voice. His figure was blurred by the tears in her eyes and she couldn't stop them from flowing. She thought she'd been too late.

Her arms were around him before she knew it, clutching him so tightly she could feel their hearts beat in a cacophonous sync—he groaned but she refused to let him go.

"Zuko, Zuko, Zuko," she sobbed, his name pouring out of her like a cry of relief.

One of his arms wrapped around her and he rubbed her shoulder. "Katara?"

Katara knew that there could be a better moment—a moment when he wasn't hurt, when his sister's anguished cries of rage and defeat weren't filling the background, when they reunited with the rest—that she could say this, but she'd almost been too late. Even now, she could feel how close it had been that she could have been too late.

But she had to say it now—she would not wait any longer. She had waited long enough—she had denied it long enough.

"Zuko, I…"


	2. Day Five: Sadness

Zuko sat by the turtleduck pond, in his mother's favorite spot. He looked on with a wistful memory of days he used to spend drinking bad tea he'd made with his late wife, playing with his little girl, and later with his hot-headed grandson. For years now, the palace had become quiet, and the turtleducks were lonely when he didn't come to see them. It was also hard to admit that Zuko felt alone sometimes, too.

The turtleducks knew that whenever he was around, food was aplenty, and today they gathered at the edge of the pond for him.

"Okay, little guys, I'm going, I'm going," he said in response to their eager quacking. He tried to ignore the shake in his hands as he crumbed the bread.

The turtleducks swam around near him once they had their fill of bread. Zuko got to his feet with some effort and moved to sit down at a seat an attendant had brought for him. He'd brought a pot of tea with him, but he'd made it too strong, like always. The only person who made a good pot of tea anymore was his grandson, but he was far away, and a visit to his grandfather was the furthest thing from his mind.

A memory, brighter and newer than the others, floated to the forefront of his thoughts.

"_The tea is too strong again," he muttered as he sipped his cup._

"_I think it's just fine," she replied, but her face crumpled in distaste._

_She was here on a short visit—a message from Aang that he couldn't deliver himself. It was also a year from the death of his wife, and he could not have been happier to have her company._

"_This is your mother's favorite spot, isn't it?" she asked, setting down her tea._

_He nodded. "We used to sit on the edge right there and feed the turtleducks. Iroh used to like feeding them with me, but now he spends his days training and talking of joining the army."_

"_He's really living up to his namesake, isn't he?"_

_He looked down at the cup in his hands, thinking of his late uncle. "Yes. He wants to be a general someday."_

_She reached over and squeezed his shoulder gently. "Would you like to feed the turtleducks? They've been swimming in this area for a while now."_

_He nodded and set aside his tea and picked up the plate of cookies an attendant had brought for them. It took them both a minute to properly situate themselves—age was beginning to set on them, and things weren't as easy to do as they once had been._

"_Those fire lilies weren't there last time, were they?" she asked, nodding at the fire lilies lining the other side of the pond._

_He shook his head. "She planted them not long before..."_

"_They're beautiful. She chose a perfect place for them. They get lots of sun over there."_

"_She would have liked to hear you say that."_

_Her eyes met his and she nodded, but didn't look away. "I don't think she would have liked it as much as you think she would."_

_He had to smile. "No, I suppose not."_

_His wife had never explicitly shown her jealousy, but he had known it was there. For many years he had believed that it was because they were old friends—she had been with him through good times and bad, and he had told his wife so many times. However, once he realized that there could have been more—a great sadness came over him. A sadness at the thought of what could have been. She must have felt the same way, too._

"_Those actors—maybe they caught something we didn't," she had said to him once._

_He looked away from her and broke one of the cookies into crumbs before tossing them to the turtleducks, who quacked happily at the sight of food. "Would you have been happy here, Katara?"_

_She said nothing for a moment, and then sighed before mimicking his move to feed the turtleducks. "I always thought we were too different. Night and day. The moon and the sun." She paused. "I would have been happy here."_

_They looked at each other once more. Eyes the color of a calm, peaceful sea and eyes like a bright, glowing fire meeting together in a final thought of possibility. But as soon as it came, it was gone, and they were old friends again._

Zuko looked to his side, at the space she had occupied all those years ago, and a small smile came to his face. A soft breeze came from the east, rustling his robes and stirring the memory away. His days were lonely now—many of his friends were gone, and his family was getting smaller each day—but on days like this, when he thought of days past, and of old friends like her, he was able to smile and feel happiness once more.


	3. Day Seventeen: Vague

The sun was beginning to rise, and with it she had risen as well. After travelling with her punctual brother for so long, waking up at dawn came easy now for her. As she crawled out of her tent, she saw that she was the only one awake, and that was fine by her. They were in the Earth Kingdom again, near some cliffs that looked over the sea, and she wanted to enjoy the sound of the waves splashing the rocks and feel the damp, cool air on her skin and watch the sun climb over the horizon before they had to leave.

She picked her seat on the spongy grass near the edge of the cliff at some distance from the camp, where she could watch uninterrupted. Now that the war was over, there was time to actually sit and enjoy things that she had been too preoccupied to enjoy before. And one of her favorite things was to watch the sunrise. Some days, if she was lucky, she could see the moon make its descent opposite the sun, fading away to let the sun have its turn illuminating the world. Today was one of those days and she looked on at the sky with a small smile on her face.

Some time later, as the sun was just a sliver over the line of the sea, she heard some footsteps coming in her direction. She began turning her head with a forced smile, expecting a young man with telltale blue arrow tattoos, but was surprised instead when she saw the dark, floppy-haired boy she now considered one of her best friends walking towards her with hesitance in his step.

"Hi, Zuko," she greeted, her smile now wide and genuine. "You're up early."

He gave her a little half-smile and shrugged. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

She shook her head and with a flick of her wrist she dried off the dew of a spot on the grass next to her. "No, of course not. Sit down."

He gracefully folded himself down beside her. "Thank you, Katara. You know, most days I'm up around this time, but I never get to see the sunrise."

She patted his arm sympathetically. "I'm glad you're able to take some time off and be with us."

"Tomorrow I have to go back," he sighed, looking away from her and out towards the sea.

She tried to swallow back the disappointment she felt. "Oh. I was hoping…"

He glanced at her. "I know."

"Well, at least we can enjoy the sunrise today." She paused and pointed to the fading outline of the moon. "I really like seeing the moon set, if that's what you call it. It gets lighter and lighter until the glow of the sun fades it out."

A smile came over his face and she nudged his shoulder. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied, shrugging. "It's just a little ironic."

"What is?"

"Remember at the North Pole? When you froze me in that ice?"

She felt a hot blush of embarrassment creep over her cheeks. "Yes. I'm sorry about that."

He chuckled. "You shouldn't be. I deserved it."

He said nothing for another minute and her curiosity got the best of her. "What was ironic about that?"

"It was something I said. 'You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun.'" He turned to look at her. "It's a little ironic that you would be happy to see the moon set."

Katara began to smile but stopped and looked away. "It's not about the effect on my waterbending…but I guess it might be. When the moon is full…"

"You can bloodbend."

She looked at him with surprise. She had never told him that she could bloodbend—and he'd never asked after she used bloodbending in front of him when they went looking for the man that took her mother. "How did you know?"

"I saw you do it." He reached over and touched her hand gently.

She saw in his eyes understanding and acceptance, not the fear she had expected. "I never wanted that ability. I learned it by force. And when I used it again I was so blinded by rage and vengeance that I didn't think twice about using it. I felt so guilty after."

He nodded. "I know."

It was all he had to say, and she knew that he understood. She squeezed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Zuko."

They said nothing else for the rest of the sunrise. She was glad he was here beside her—he was always warm and being near him brought her a comfort and tranquility she could not really explain. He must have felt the same way, because whenever the opportunity presented itself they were drawn to each other like magnets. Sometimes she tried to fight it—it had not escaped the notice of Aang or Mai, and once or twice it had been mentioned by them that she and him were too close. So she only let herself be drawn to him in stolen moments like this, when they could be with each other without scrutiny. He was the only person who understood her in every way, and she was the only person he felt truly at ease with. Their relationship was blurred sometimes, but they always knew where they stood. And she would not have it any other way. Perhaps that was another reason she liked seeing the sunrise and the fading of the moon—they could never really be together except in rare moments, special in their own way but beautiful together.


End file.
